PE in Covid-19

When should I worry about a PE in a patient with COVID-19 

and how do I make the diagnosis?

CanadiEM / Blood & Clots Series - By Zachary Liederman - August 27, 2020

"Main Messages

1. COVID-19 is a prothrombotic disorder and PE should be considered for sudden or unexplained respiratory changes.
2. For most cases, no single clinical or laboratory feature (e.g. D-Dimer) is enough to rule in or rule out PE in COVID-19 by itself
3. When PE is considered, diagnosis should be based on the standard of care imaging test (positive CTPA or doppler ultrasound) whenever possible. If imaging is not accessible a presumptive diagnosis can be made (and anticoagulation started) taking into consideration ancillary findings, clinical stability and bleeding risk."